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Sublimate the ego

CHENNAI: Self-identity is the corollary of ego which underlies all human experiences. Generally its negative connotation, which is egoism, springs to mind just as the mention of thief immediately evokes the image of a dacoit though there are all kinds of thieves. It is necessary to understand what ego is and its nature from the spiritual point of view. Ego (out of ignorance) is the cause of bondage because man identifies with his body-mind-intellect personality instead of with the Self (Atman). This wrong identification is the result of ego.

In his discourse, Swami Vimurthananda said all problems would cease when ego was obliterated. The ego is very subtle and it is not easy to annihilate it. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to say that ego was akin to a deep-rooted tree. Even if one cuts the tree it will spring forth again and again until all the roots are uprooted. This is why it is difficult to progress spiritually as ego surfaces the more one tries to subjugate it. Ego has two facets. The first is philosophical wherein ego (Ahamkara) is a conglomerate of the mind’s modes: Manas, Buddhi, Chitta and Antahkarana. The other is the one which is experienced, the “I”, which is the substratum of all human emotions, thoughts and actions. As a person progresses spiritually the mind becomes purer and this reflects in his interactions with the world. Spiritual practices are therefore structured to uproot the ego.

If one pauses to consider it will be apparent that everything functions spontaneously in Nature but human beings think that they are responsible. Lord Krishna has pointed out that it is man’s ego which makes him think so: “All actions are being performed by the modes of Prakriti (primordial matter). The fool, whose mind is deluded by egoism, thinks: ‘I am the doer’.”

God has created ego but egoism is man’s doing. Saints have warned spiritual seekers of the pitfalls of ego. When it is sublimated ego elevates the individual resulting in the experience of the bliss of the Self (Atman). If he submits to ego it will make him egoistic leading to his downfall. So a spiritual seeker must be always vigilant and overcome all traces of it consciously.

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